Morpheus book 2, p.19
Morpheus: Book 2, page 19
“God, can you imagine all these eggs hatching?” Amanda shuddered.
“Exactly why I want to burn it the fuck down,” Joel muttered.
Nicola looked to be in thought for a moment before nodding. “Alright. I’ll get my people over here to start up a little cookout.”
“No need,” Jess interjected. “The web burned perfectly well with one of my abilities. Just make sure your people are clear.”
Nicola nodded and reached into a pocket. She plucked out a small shiny cylinder and brought it to her lips. Joel realized what it was, just before she blew. Which unfortunately wasn’t enough warning for Buster and Luneira. Both of them winced and backed away as a shrill whistle reverberated in their ears.
She blew twice and waited. A moment later, a second whistle in the distance blew twice. Followed by a third. Joel watched as Nicola counted each response before nodding to herself.
“That’s everyone. Nobody’s inside.”
“Clever,” Joel said. He would definitely need to implement something similar with his lot.
“Please master, let us find some other way to communicate,” Luneira begged, while rubbing one of her ears. His night hag was getting very good at reading him, it seemed.
“Not a fan of high pitch noises,” Nicola nodded. “Got it. I’ll warn you next time.”
“I would appreciate that.”
Buster let out a soft chuff as if agreeing with the night hag.
“Fire,” Jess called softly, catching everyone’s attention.
She pulled back her bow, where the orange glow of the arrow reflected off her cheek. With a moment to aim into the room, Jess loosed the arrow, which whooshed off into the open door of the hall. It struck one of the silk cocoons, vanishing in a burst of flames.
“Oh shit, we’re burning it?” A voice called.
Nicola turned and spotted one of her people. A younger man with a nasty-looking scar on his face. It looked older than something that would have happened since initiation. “Yup.”
“What about the tanks?” he asked.
“This first,” Nicola said firmly. “I’ve been assured that burning things down during the night doesn’t burn them down during the day.”
The man nodded as if unsure of what he’d been told, but accepted it after a moment. “I’ll grab the others and head to the meeting spot, then.”
“I won’t be long,” Nicola agreed, and the young man rushed off.
“That’s Josh. If you see him coming, it’s because I sent him,” Nicola said simply. “He’s young, a little headstrong. But good people and I trust him.”
“Good to know,” Joel said as he turned to watch the flames spreading through the hall.
“We should get the rest of them,” Jess suggested. “The hall’s built up enough it’ll handle itself, at least.”
“S’pose we’re doing a tour then.” Nicola waved for them to follow.
Jess followed on her tail. Nicola would open a door, where Jess would look in and fire off an arrow or two, depending on the number of egg sacs. Everyone else huddled around, prepared for anything that might jump out. It was both a relief, and a bit of a worry for Joel as they hurried out of the school grounds as smoke and flames rose up behind them.
There was a ring-road in front of the school for dropping off the kids. It had a small covered area, where a huddle of similarly dressed people was waiting. Including Josh, who suddenly frowned in concern as he saw them coming.
“What’s wrong?” Nicola asked, seeing his expression.
“Josephine, she’s not with you?” he asked.
“No,” Nicola stopped. “She’s not here?”
Josh shook his head, and the rest of the group turned and looked concerned as they realized the depth of the problem here.
“Shit,” Nicola said, turning to look back at the school.
Nearly every building was on fire. Not all of them. But enough to make it clear that not much would be likely to survive until morning. The flames were already creeping into the sky and the smoke was going up in thick plumes.
“Nicola, we need to find her!” Josh snapped.
“You’re right,” Nicola nodded, before turning to Joel and the others. “One of my people is missing. I’m not asking—”
“Good, because we’re volunteering,” Joel said quickly. “Luneira, go with Amanda.” He turned towards his wraith. “Jenny, you’re with Jess.”
“What about you?” Jess asked.
“Either I’m going alone, or with one of Nicola’s people,” Joel said, turning to the woman in front of him.
“You can come with me,” she said with a nod. “Josh, get everyone into groups, move fast. If she’s in there, we need to find her before it’s too late.”
“You heard her,” Joel snapped at his own group.
Jess nodded and ran back through the gate, leading the way as Josh began issuing orders.
“Come on,” Nicola smacked Joel on the arm.
“Probably should have started with a description,” Joel asked.
“She’s seventeen, shoulder length black hair and likes to wear a studded collar,” Nicola said, leading the way up to the administration block at the front of the school.
“So we’re looking for an edgy teen with attitude,” Joel joked.
“She’s also my niece,” Nicola said, shooting a glare at Joel instead.
“Oh,” Joel replied with a wince. “Sorry—”
“Just help me find her,” Nicola huffed as she grabbed the door handle and pulled. “Fucking locked.”
Joel stepped up and drove his foot into the door beside her hand. Despite the door being meant to open outward, it slammed in, shattering the hinges as Nicola yelped and jumped back. She stared at the door, then at Joel, before shaking her head and rushed in.
“Josie!” Nicola called. “You in here!”
They hit a hallway, and Nicola turned right. Joel moved left, around the administration counter, and another set of rooms to the left. There was a back door, and it was hanging open, like something had broken in. The administration block was empty. But it had been tossed over. Looking like someone had gone in at some point looking for school records. Why someone would have bothered after the apocalypse was anyone’s guess, but Joel wasn’t here for that.
“Josie!” Nicola shouted.
Joel pulled back and headed to the hall, where Nicola was jogging down towards him. “Nothing?”
“No signs of her,” Nicola confirmed.
Joel nodded and led the way out the back door and into the school. On the other side of the administration block was a meeting room for the teachers. It was already gutted. The doors were open, and the building had flames washing out one of the windows. The two of them poked their heads in, but other than some burning egg sacs, there were no signs of life.
“C’mon, let’s go,” Joel pulled out and turned to head deeper into the school.
They marched across a small open space between a covered path and what looked like a canteen. That was one of the few buildings that hadn’t been intentionally set on fire. The concrete structure was designed to keep kids out, and it seemed that without large windows, the eaer hadn’t managed to get in. That hadn’t stopped smaller monsters like the hellhounds from breaking in, though, and the entrance door was thoroughly smashed.
Joel pointed it out when his foot kicked on something that clinked. He and Nicola both looked down at the same time. Joel recognized it as the same kind of whistle that Nicola had used earlier to make her signal. She bent and picked it up, before going wide eyed. Joel spotted it as she held it towards him. A thin line of black lipstick is around the mouthpiece.
Joel took a single look at the open door to the canteen and drew his sword. Nicola saw his movement and moved out of the way as Joel pushed inside. Without windows, the canteen was dark. Worse still, there was debris everywhere. Torn boxes of old food, exploded packets of chips and broken kitchen utensils strewn about. Through the middle of it all, was signs that something large had been dragged through the middle of it all.
Joel followed, feeling things out with his legs as he peered into the darkness for signs of life.
“Josie?!” Nicola called out. “You in here?”
“Can’t see shit.” Joel frowned as he reached the middle of the room. “You got a light or something with you?”
“Ah, hold on,” Nicola said as Joel continued following the trail right to the back of the canteen. It was by a bench, with a large square industrial sink. There were no signs anything was atop the sink, and Joel bent down as he heard a soft click behind him. There was a flash of light before a beam illuminated where Joel was looking. It showed nothing but empty space below the bench.
“Find anything?”
“Nothing.” Joel frowned. “It looked like something had been dragged in, and the trail led right here.”
“Maybe we’re missing something then,” Nicola said, hurrying over.
Joel stepped back to give her room as Nicola looked over the space he’d just checked. And by complete chance, he glanced back towards the doorway. From this perspective, a small amount of light was reflecting off the stainless steel sink, casting a faint glow back into the room. Just enough for Joel to spot something move.
“CEILING!”
Nicola spun around and held up the torch.
“HSSSSS!”
“JOSEPHINE!” Nicola screamed.
Up on the ceiling was another eaer. This one was much, much smaller than its parent had been. It would have stood two feet tall if it were on the ground, and six feet across from leg to leg. This one hung from the ceiling, where roof tiles had been pried away. And hanging above, was a human sized cocoon of silk, where a lock of black hair was barely visible sticking out from the top.
Knowing it had been spotted. The eaer rushed across the ceiling. Joel sidestepped it, but he wasn’t the target. The eaer was going after Nicola, who was keeping her light affixed on it.
“Nicola, duck!” Joel yelled as the eaer reared itself.
She yelped and dived out of the way. The light vanished, but Joel knew the relative spot where the eaer was already. He swung his blade, hacking into something that shrieked in pain. There was a splatter of wetness that got in his eye, and Joel yelped in pain as it burned. He never saw the limb that struck him. It wasn’t a mortal blow, but it knocked him flat on his back. The eaer landed atop him, and Joel reached out, grabbing where he thought its face was. Only to grasp a pair of sharp fangs the length of his fingers.
“Oh, fuck!” Joel growled as it pressed down, trying to pierce him. “Get it off me!”
“Shit!” Nicola yelped as she got the light on target.
“Bolster!” Joel snarled, pushing his strength up once more.
The eaer leaned on him with all its might. He wasn’t able to throw it off, but it wasn’t able to overpower him, either. Both the eaer and Joel flinched at the same time, as a harsh whistle blasted in the confines of the canteen. The eaer recovered first and Joel yelped as it lunged, trying to stab into him once more. If not for his elbows smacking into the floor, it might have succeeded. Joel managed to catch it though and held it back as it screamed in rage.
“What-OH FUCK JOEL!” Jess yelped.
There was a heavy smack, and the eaer hissed as it pulled away. Joel caught a glimpse of an arrow sticking out of its side, while Jess pulled back for a second shot. Buster came in next, snarling as it leaped on the eaer. Unlike the larger one, Buster was able to grab it by the leg and drag. The eaer wasn’t nimble enough to remain on its feet as the hellhound dragged it in circles.
“Master!” Jenny appeared, before gasping in anger.
“Girl!” Joel pointed up at the ceiling. “Jenny, get the girl!”
Nicola shined her light up, casting the room into darkness once more. Buster was still doing his work, as Jenny blinked up into the ceiling and started examining the cocoon.
“Master, I don’t know if this one is alive,” Jenny called.
“GET HER DOWN!” Nicola screamed.
Jenny glanced at Joel, and he nodded before picking up his blade once more. Buster was doing an admirable job, but in the dark, he heard thumps and growls in the far corner of the room. The poor pup was now wedged between the wall and the eaer, who, without the dragging, managed to regain its footing. Joel also noticed it was missing its two front legs, where he’d hacked into it the first time.
The eaer lunged and Buster yelped in pain as the fangs struck him in the side. Joel was only a moment behind, slamming his sword directly into the small eaer’s back. Unlike the larger parent, this blow hacked right through the top of its body. Almost cleaving it in half as the hammer shaped tip of the sword jutted out the bottom of its cephalothorax.
The eaer spasmed and tried to twist itself around. Which only made things worse as its body began to split open. Its organs began to pour out, and the smell was awful. Buster was whimpering on the floor, frothing slightly as Jess stepped around and put another arrow in the eaer. It jerked in place before slumping on the floor.
Joel pried his weapon free and watched as the monster bled out on the floor. Then raised his weapon and brought it down a second time, ending it permanently.
“Someone catch her!” Jenny snapped.
Joel flinched and remembered who else was here. There was shouting from outside. It didn’t sound like they were fighting, more just passing a message that they’d found the girl. Nicola shined the light back up, and Jenny was standing between two rafters, with the bound body of the teen in her arms. Joel hurried over and held up his arms. Jenny lowered her down, and Jess shifted in beside him to help catch as Jenny released. The girl was limp and fell into Joel’s arms, with Jess catching her head in case he didn’t quite have her.
“Josie!” Nicola hurried over.
“No, we need to get her out,” Joel said, pushing the woman back with an elbow.
“You don’t—”
“GET HER THE FUCK OUT FIRST!” Joel roared.
Nicola grimaced before hurrying to the door.
“Someone grab Buster,” Joel said. “I don’t know if the venom is deadly or not.”
“I’ll de-summon him,” Jess said.
Joel nodded as he hoisted the limp teen into his arms and hurried outside. There was a lot of smoke and it looked like most, if not all, of Nicola’s group was there already. They stared in shock and worry at the bundle in Joel’s arms, meanwhile Nicola shot him a fierce glare.
“Put her down,” she snapped.
Joel did just that before Nicola shoved herself in the way. She grabbed the webbing over the teen’s face and pulled. There were a series of soft snapping sounds, and bit by bit the webbing came away. It had tufts of hair trapped within, but Nicola wasn’t worried about that. She pried it free and gasped as a pale face came into view.
“Josie,” Nicola trembled. “Josie baby.”
“It’s her?” Joel asked.
Nicola nodded slowly. “Oh, baby… I’m so sorry.”
“Is she dead?” Jenny asked.
“What?” Nicola snapped.
“I asked if she was actually dead,” Jenny replied.
Nicola looked like she was about to attack before suddenly freezing. She bent over and pried away more of the webbing, and slipped her fingers inside to feel at the teen’s neck.
“SHE’S ALIVE!”
Joel sighed before frowning. “Nicola, do you have anyone with a medical class that can help her?”
“What?” Nicola froze, then frowned. “No… Shit. What… what if this is permanent?”
“We can take care of her,” someone in her group offered. “Take turns, giving her a bit of water every few minutes. See if she wakes up.”
Nicola frowned and was about to speak when Jess came out of the canteen and grabbed her by the shoulder. “We have a healer.”
Nicola looked Jess in the eye. “You what?”
“Marlene,” Jess stated. “She’s a cleric. She has a healing ability. You can take her home and try your luck. Or you can bring her to our settlement, and Marlene can try to help her there.”
“Do we trust them?” someone asked.
“What if it’s a trick?” someone else asked.
Nicola turned to look Joel in the eye, and Joel stared right back. “She’s not lying. We really do have a cleric. You probably saw her when we were fighting the mama eaer. She was the one running around helping people up when they were injured.”
“Oh my god,” Nicola gasped. “You… you think she can help?”
“I think if she can’t, Josie won’t be any worse off,” Joel told her.
“Let’s go,” Nicola said, bending to pick up the girl.
“Give her to me—”
“We don’t have time,” Nicola snapped as she got Josie off the ground and slowly pushed herself upright.
“Which is why you should give her to me. Strength is my highest stat. I can carry her all day without breaking a sweat,” Joel insisted.
Nicola frowned. “Something happens to her—”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard all the threats already. Hand her over, then let’s get out of here.”
Nicola handed over the limp teen, before turning her head to keep her face clear. Josie’s eyes were closed, and Joel couldn’t feel any sign she was conscious or aware. That or she was entirely paralyzed and was incapable of conscious movement. Either way, with the flames at their back and home in the distance, he set off as quickly as his large frame could take him.
“Why are you helping us?” Nicola asked, as their ragtag group passed out the front gates of the school once more.
“Because I’m not a bastard,” Joel answered simply. “If humanity fails… I think we become like Luneira and Jenny. The newest wave of monsters introduced to the system when it takes over a new world.”
“And how do you know that?” Nicola asked.
“Because I have memories of what it was like, before I became a part of Morpheus,” Luneira spoke up. “A culture, I no longer fully recall. A world I can’t remember the name of. Friends I can’t recall the faces of. A life I don’t remember, before waking up in this place, with the single-minded goal of killing my master.”
“You wanted to kill him?” Nicola asked.
